Empty Shell — an etheree

by Belinda Munoz on June 14, 2011

015

Waves
rippling
salt water
washing ashore
debris from the tides.
Message in a bottle,
let the truth reverberate.
This calcified exterior,
its beauty to extol, is none but
an empty shell, devoid of depth to dig.

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Oh, the seashell. Is it as rich in metaphor for you as it is for me? Or is it simply doomed to sit atop a stack of boring papers, empty and alone, regardless of its graceful lines?

This is both a magpie tale and a one shot wednesday piece. The form I use is called an Etheree which consists of ten lines, each line gradually gaining a syllable from 1 to 10 (or gradually losing a syllable from 10-1 if reversed). Words and meaning are open to interpretation, as usual.

{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }

1 BigLittleWolf June 14, 2011 at 5:00 am

This is gorgeous.

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2 Jannie Funster June 14, 2011 at 7:19 am

They say the universe is shaped like a shell’s spiral.

All is expanding, and enlightening.

This is a very lovely poem!

xoxo

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3 ayala June 14, 2011 at 8:21 am

Lovely, it brought me serenity. I love shells and the ocean :)

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4 Ann Grenier June 14, 2011 at 1:01 pm

Beautiful rendering of this challenging poetry form. Well done!

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5 brian June 14, 2011 at 2:19 pm

messages in a bottle carry such mystery, but the shell it seems is bare… : (

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6 Laura Hegfield June 14, 2011 at 3:25 pm

excellent writing, I love this form too…you’ve taught me something new…and yes, shells are indeed rich in metaphor.

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7 tess kincaid June 14, 2011 at 3:38 pm

I really enjoyed the notion of a shell being a message in a bottle. Nice.

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8 Steve Isaak June 14, 2011 at 3:44 pm

Solid work.

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9 Mama Zen June 14, 2011 at 6:07 pm

I like this. I hadn’t thought of a shell this way.

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10 wolfsrosebud June 14, 2011 at 6:15 pm

Beautiful photo. Nice description.

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11 Rudri Bhatt Patel @ Being Rudri June 14, 2011 at 6:25 pm

Evocative and soothing.

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12 Pat Hatt June 14, 2011 at 7:23 pm

Using the message in the bottle was a great touch, really liked the image in invoked, nice one shot.

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13 Talon June 14, 2011 at 7:36 pm

Such beauty and a little of the mystery of life tucked in here, Belinda. I loved it.

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14 Madeleine Begun Kane June 14, 2011 at 8:29 pm

Lovely poem. I’m not familiar with that ethereal form. :)

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15 Kim Nelson June 14, 2011 at 8:31 pm

I’ve collected shells from 4 of the world’s oceans, and have a real fascination. Your well-constructed piece added to my adoration. Well done.
http://www.kimnelsonwrites.com/2011/06/14/letting-go/

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16 Helen June 15, 2011 at 8:52 am

A work of art …………

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17 Myrna June 15, 2011 at 8:54 am

So well done. How nice that you used a specific form. Really enjoyed this.

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18 Kavita June 15, 2011 at 9:52 pm

Wonderful… it flowed so well… and yes, your words and the sound of the waves just reverberated in my mind…
Very nicely written, Belinda!

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19 Jingle June 18, 2011 at 3:32 am

profound magpie.

live words, beautiful thoughts, cheers.

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